Quarterly Reports

In fiscal year 2017, we saw a 4 percent increase in the total number of proposals submitted (1,725)—the largest number in UT history. The total amount requested for these submissions was $558 million, signifying an increase of 0.6 percent. UT researchers were awarded $166 million in FY17, representing a $12 million—or 8 percent—increase over FY16 and the largest amount received in the last five fiscal years.

Most of this year-over-year growth resulted from a $12 million increase in federal obligations. Federal Agencies accounted for 66 percent of the total sponsored obligations or $109 million and of the 30 funding agencies tracked by National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey (NSF HERD), Department of Energy (DOE) and National Science Foundation (NSF) accounted for 71 percent of our total award dollars. Looking at the specific federal agencies, the largest advance came from DOE – up $7 million compared to last year. We also received $4 million from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which represents the largest amount ever received from NASA in a given fiscal year.

During the third quarter of FY17, in addition to the funding of projects from the federal government, we saw increases of awards from non-profit, for-profit, and foreign organizations to support our research enterprise. This is encouraging as we continue our momentum towards the Top 25.

One particular project of interest during this quarter was awarded to Uma Rao, Betsey R. Bush Endowed Professor of Behavioral Health and director of UT’s Center for Behavioral Health Research. Rao submitted a proposal to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to investigate the “Ethnic Influences on Stress, Energy Balance and Obesity in Adolescents.”This research will be beneficial in developing future programs to assist individuals with weight control interventions and obesity prevention.

Click the image to view or download the First Quarterly Research Report of FY17 for the Office of Research and Engagement.

During the second quarter of FY17, the Office of Research and Engagement continued to assist in several proposal submissions and to receive several awards from external sponsors to support proposed projects.

One of the projects awarded this quarter was for a proposal submitted to the National Institute of Justice by Giovanni Vidoli, research assistant professor of anthropology and assistant director of the Forensic Anthropology Center, entitled “Implications of Three-Dimensional Laser Scanned Images for the Criminal Justice System.” The goal of this project is to provide quantitative data on a layperson’s and forensic professional’s interpretation and assessment of traditional scene documentation and 3D laser scanned representations of potential crime scenes.

During the first quarter of FY17, the University of Tennesse, Knoxville Department of Psychology received a five-year award for $2,887,974 from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative research project under the direction of Erin Hardin, professor and associate head of psychology, and co-investigators Elisabeth Schussler and Melinda Gibbons, along with Timothy Ezzell and Marisa Moazen. ASPIRE, or Appalachian Students Promoting the Integration of Research in Education, is an undergraduate scholarship program available to Appalachian high school seniors with financial need who seek to attend UT.

Click the image to view or download the First Quarterly Research Report of FY17 for the Office of Research and Engagement.

Additionally, the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences received a Department of Energy award for $2.4 million over two and a half years to develop a new type of microgrid with a corresponding controller. This project is led by Fred Wang, and co-investigators Leon Tolbert and Yilu Liu.

The Office of Research and Engagement is continually looking at ways to foster and support research activities so if you have any concerns or suggestions please contact Jean Mercer.

In the final quarter of FY16, the Office of Research and Engagement has helped foster several significant and strategic research wins.

Click the image to the right to view or download the Fourth Quarterly Research Report for the Office of Research and Engagement.

UT’s School of Information Sciences in the College of Communication and Information received two grants totaling more than $850,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to train information science experts. Continue reading →